The Cairo Marriott Hotel & Omar Khayyam Casino, one of the largest hotels in the Middle East and Europe, aims to build on last year's success at this month's MTF.
"This year we aim to emphasise our outstanding services which we offer our guests from within the Mediterranean area," a hotel spokesman said. "Our main objective is to raise the awareness that the Marriott palace is a remarkable and unique hotel, that it offers guests many options and experiences that other 5 star hotels do not have." The hotel celebrates its 20th anniversary next year and MTF will be the platform to outline the celebrations that await guests at this former guest palace built by the Khedive Ismail for the Suez Canal inauguration in 1869. "By participating in the Mediterranean Travel Fair 2001, we aim to promote the palace as a hotel that offers guests much more than a regular 5-star hotel. It is an ideal place to stay, whether you are a tourist or on a business venture," said the spokesman. "Having 20 years of experience, we now fully understand our valued guests' needs and expectations." Located on a lush, beautifully landscaped island on the Nile, the hotel incorporates the historic Al Gezirah Palace which played host to European monarchs including Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III. Today the Palace is all that remains of the estate and many of its rooms and furnishings have been restored to their original splendor, creating hotel reception rooms, restaurants and lounges. A few minutes away from the Bazar and the museum and a short drive from the Pyramids, the palace offers a blend of traditional elegance and contemporary facilities. "The hotel's 1,250 luxury rooms and suites bring a whole new dimension to the art of good living," says a hotel spokesman. This summer, the hotel is offering a range of activities including Funtasia Land where children can enjoy energy packed games daily; Almaz Cinema, Cairo's only open-air cinema with a spectacular view of Nile where guests can enjoy a full meal with their movies; Jazz Brunch for the family at the Omar's CafŽ on Friday and aboard the boat Nile Maxim on Saturdays and the Promenad CafŽ in the palace's gardens. The hotel also organises a variety of food festivals featuring fabulous cuisines from around the world. The Marriott group will also spotlight its newest property, the JW Marriott Hotel, Mirage City to open early next year in Cairo. The new hotel will be the 10th JW Marriott Hotel in the Middle East and is being promoted as a "Destination within a Destination". The 428-room hotel will offer high speed Internet access in all rooms, a first for a Cairo hotel, besides the full range of facilities conforming to the JW Marriott's high standards, a Marriott spokesman said. A variety of 12 restaurants and bars will offer a top of the line international choice in cuisine and entertainment while the largest ballroom in Cairo seating 1,580 people is set to make the hotel the preferred choice of the meetings industry. JW Marriott Mirage City will also become the first hotel in the world to offer one the largest health spas (120,000 sq ft) onsite besides various sporting facilities including tennis courts, an 18-hole golf course which is already open along with its club house, and in another first, a themed water park with wave pool and water slides, the spokesman said.